This month’s WA Open venue is on a high after an impressive past 12 months
October stands to be a big month for The Western Australian Golf Club, a somewhat unheralded – yet highly ranked – course in the Perth suburb of Yokine. The club will play host to the WA Open for the tenth time from October 20-23, but for the first occasion since 2016.
It will be a chance for the course ranked 59th in the country by Australian Golf Digest to show off its two new-look closing holes. In January, the picturesque layout unveiled significant upgrade work to the 17th and 18th that sought to alleviate safety issues and improve playability. One of the highlights of the entire course is its stunning topography, yet a rise in the land that formerly cut through both fairways obscured the view of play and did nothing for the design of either hole. It prompted the club to call upon favourite son Graham Marsh to return to the course he’d previously renovated to offer a new plan for the closing pair. Aside from the ridge being lowered, the existing fairway bunkering was either added to or carefully recalibrated to fortify both holes.
“While the views are a feature of the course, even sitting from a wonderful vantage point like the clubhouse, golfers playing up the 18th hole could not be clearly seen until they came up over the final rise about 100 to 120 metres short of the green,” says WA-based turf expert John Forrest. “The second shot in was blind and for the bigger-hitting golfers it would often take some time to determine whether it was safe to play their approach shot. Any perception of depth and distance was difficult to gauge, especially with a small dip in front of the green. It has to be said that the club has definitely accomplished what it set out to achieve and has delivered two holes where aesthetics, playability and safety have been greatly enhanced.”
The club is also on a high after being named the Metropolitan Golf Course of the Year and Metropolitan Facility of the Year at the WA Golf Industry Gala Dinner in August. The club received the awards based on minimal member attrition through the qualification period and has been assisted by a value proposition that has been enhanced by the course improvements and a suite of well-attended clubhouse events.
Topping off The Western Australian Golf Club experience is the eye-catching Tudor-style clubhouse, which offers sweeping views across the course’s irrigation lake between the first and ninth holes towards the Perth CBD to the south and the Darling Ranges to the east.
THE DETAILS
The Western Australian Golf Club
Where: Hayes Ave, Yokine WA 6060
Phone: (08) 9349 1988
Web: wagolfclub.com.au
